Gingrich to exit without endorsing Romney

posted at 9:21 am on May 2, 2012 by Ed Morrissey

Newt Gingrich exits the race today, nearly two months after winning his last state in the nomination chase. According to CNN, Gingrich won’t formally endorse Mitt Romney on his way out as some had expected, but will wait for a couple of weeks instead. He will offer “support” for the Republican nominee:

Newt Gingrich will briefly mention presumptive nominee Mitt Romney and signal support for his candidacy when the former House speaker suspends his campaign for the GOP presidential nomination on Wednesday, Gingrich’s spokesman R.C. Hammond said. …

Gingrich, in his remarks Wednesday, will discuss Romney in the context of “how we need to help defeat Barack Obama and the need to help (House Speaker John) Boehner” maintain Republican control of the House of Representatives, Hammond said.

Hammond says that Gingrich’s endorsement will come as “no surprise,” but it will come later in the month. The two camps are negotiating a joint appearance, most likely hinging on Romney’s efforts to help retire Gingrich’s campaign debt. Gingrich was $4.5 million in the hole at the end of March, and is almost certainly worse off now. He will need a lot of help from Romney and his backers to get out of the deep well of red ink in which his campaign has sunk.

Rick Santorum, on the other hand, says he doesn’t need help in retiring a much smaller debt, under $1 million according to campaign sources. He meets with Romney on Friday, and the Associated Press reports that Santorum wants some assurances on policy before issuing his formal endorsement:

Romney has changed his position on bedrock issues such as abortion and gay rights. He supported the 2008 Wall Street bailout that angered conservatives and paved the way for the rise of the tea party. And he signed a health care overhaul as governor that provided the groundwork for Democrats’ national law that requires all Americans to buy insurance or face a fine. Romney’s health care overhaul in Massachusetts required health care coverage.

That’s the primary issue Santorum plans to discuss Friday when he meets privately with Romney.

“We want to make sure he doesn’t replace it with any kind of mandate,” Santorum adviser Hogan Gidley said. He added, “Rick just wants to have a candid, open conversation about making sure the folks in the 11 states that voted for him, and the conservative movement, have a voice in the Romney campaign.”

Advisers caution that an endorsement — or a public appearance for that matter — is unlikely to immediately follow Santorum’s private meeting with Romney.

Santorum has, like Gingrich, already stated publicly that he will support the Republican nominee, but has come short of a formal endorsement. Both men need to hold onto that step as the only value they have to trade for concessions.

Meanwhile, the Obama campaign salutes Gingrich on the way out by playing his greatest hits — against Romney:

A bloody Republican primary campaign left lots of footage of insults lying around.

In a new online advertisement, President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign strings together some of Newt Gingrich’s criticism of Mitt Romney that Iowans heard earlier in the season when both Republicans were angling to be the GOP nominee.

Gingrich is expected to quit the race today and endorse Romney, but the Obama web video questions what exactly Gingrich likes about Romney.

The ad, set to dramatic piano music, shows footage of Gingrich making comments such as “Why should we expect him to level with us about anything if he’s president?” In a clip from a debate, Gingrich says Romney’s investment firm, Bain Capital, sometimes looted companies and left behind thousands of unemployed workers.

There is no small amount of irony in Team Obama’s inclusion in this ad of Gingrich’s whining over negative campaigning. They just got done claiming that Romney — who gets painted as a ruthless executive in this ad — would somehow be ruth-filled as a Commander in Chief when it came time to kill an Osama bin Laden. Now they want to echo Gingrich’s “We can’t elect a big meany” argument? Er … good luck with that.

Why would Romney give Gingrich any help retiring the debt? I liked Newt at the beginning but after his campaign turned into a mess of insane class-warfare attacks and equally insane pandering, I don’t see how he could possibly make a good surrogate.

What Romney should offer him for the endorsement is a Press Secretary position in his cabinet. That is the only possible arrangement that both the candidates and the GOP will benefit from.

Mitt no longer needs Gingrich is any meaningful way. Newt was just the latest Non Romney to be pumped up by radio and bloggers. He was tossed under the bus by those same people with the efficiency everyone else was tossd. The “base” will not come out or not come out based upon anything having to do with anything Newt will say about Romney. His only benefit is his skill in attacking Obama but he’s made himself so radioactive, there’s little benefit to Romney using him as a surrogate. If he wants to go on TV and radio and do his “Calista and I” act and attack Obama, fine but nothing more. Being out there alot and being “vocal” gives more gravitas to Obama’s attacks on Paul Ryan/Romney using Newt’s own words. Sadly, Newt screwed himself.

Why would Romney give Gingrich any help retiring the debt? I liked Newt at the beginning but after his campaign turned into a mess of insane class-warfare attacks and equally insane pandering, I don’t see how he could possibly make a good surrogate.

What Romney should offer him for the endorsement is a Press Secretary position in his cabinet. That is the only possible arrangement that both the candidates and the GOP will benefit from.

Archivarix on May 2, 2012 at 9:31 AM

Romney shouldn’t. Newt got into this mess on his own, and it shows how unfit he is as an executive.

Curious. He only stayed in to divide the not-Romney voters. I thought he met with Mitt to discuss helping/stumping for him? He could have just as easily left months ago and offered his services to Santorum had he prevailed.

I don’t get it. But it’s water under the bridge now. Time to support Mitt.

Why would Romney give Gingrich any help retiring the debt? I liked Newt at the beginning but after his campaign turned into a mess of insane class-warfare attacks and equally insane pandering, I don’t see how he could possibly make a good surrogate.

What Romney should offer him for the endorsement is a Press Secretary position in his cabinet. That is the only possible arrangement that both the candidates and the GOP will benefit from.

Archivarix on May 2, 2012 at 9:31 AM

Uh, because that’s what Reagan did in 1980. He held banquets that concentrated on retiring the debt of his opponents where he, Reagan, was the toastmaster. They were big fundraisers, and went a long way towards building a winning national coalition.

Reagan, of course, was a master politician and a coalition-builder. Romney, well, he’s a master of entitlement who can’t appear to see past the failings (and Newt has many of them) of his primary opponents.

Yet another reason why Governor Tone-Deaf can never, ever be another Reagan.

Romney shouldn’t. Newt got into this mess on his own, and it shows how unfit he is as an executive.

ebrown2 on May 2, 2012 at 9:36 AM

Press Secretary position is not exactly executive. It’s… eh… talkative. Let’s put it mildly, very few Republicans are as capable as Newt in holding their own in verbal sparring with the ever-hostile press. But we obviously agree that Newt’s endorsement is practically worthless, and that no red dollars should be coming his way unless he actually earns them.

Curious. He only stayed in to divide the not-Romney voters. I thought he met with Mitt to discuss helping/stumping for him? He could have just as easily left months ago and offered his services to Santorum had he prevailed.

Yes, but his usefulness to the Mittens Campaign is over now, and Romney doesn’t want a human hand-grenade in his cabinet, so now Gingrich will take his appropriate place under Romney’s bus.

Enough already with the uproar about these ridiculous endorsements. Who cares if Johnny likes Billy? If an endorsement really affects your vote that much, maybe you should rethink your voting approach.

Let’s put it mildly, very few Republicans are as capable as Newt in holding their own in verbal sparring with the ever-hostile press. But we obviously agree that Newt’s endorsement is practically worthless, and that no red dollars should be coming his way unless he actually earns them.

Archivarix on May 2, 2012 at 9:41 AM

IMO, Newt’s ability to spar with the press is overstated. He doesn’t have Rick Perry moments but he is less of a debater than he is a bomb thrower.

Uh, because that’s what Reagan did in 1980. He held banquets that concentrated on retiring the debt of his opponents where he, Reagan, was the toastmaster. They were big fundraisers, and went a long way towards building a winning national coalition.

Reagan, of course, was a master politician and a coalition-builder. Romney, well, he’s a master of entitlement who can’t appear to see past the failings (and Newt has many of them) of his primary opponents.

Yet another reason why Governor Tone-Deaf can never, ever be another Reagan.

victor82 on May 2, 2012 at 9:39 AM

The “winning coalition” needs Gingrich like a dog needs a fifth paw. I personally despise Santorum and his positions but am willing to concede that he has a platform and some devoted followers (evangelicals) who are pro-Santorum, not anti-Romney. Newt just happened to be there when the voters frantically looked for the next not-Romney, and he screwed the pooch spectacularly on his way to becoming a polling asterisk.

The “whining” meme sunk in deep with you folks, I see. He’s being pretty darn gracious on his way out, much more than Santorum, but hey, his supporters are expendable, so let’s go with the insults and sore-winning.

I swear it’s like none of you have ever worked in politics before. What are you, 18?

I love how Santorum and Newt have qualifications for endorsements. They are the ones that need Romney to pay off their debts, which were incurred due to them being irresponsible and staying in the race longer than they should have.

If I were Mitt, I would tell them immediate endorsements for paying off their debts, or they can go you-know-what themselves.

IMO, Newt’s ability to spar with the press is overstated. He doesn’t have Rick Perry moments but he is less of a debater than he is a bomb thrower.

Happy Nomad on May 2, 2012 at 9:45 AM

Newt is not a debater – he is a soundbite thrower. However, he is a very good, quick-on-his-feet soundbite thrower, and it happens to be the exact qualification for the position of Press Secretary. He also have gravitas that the current clown posse (Gibbs and Carney) couldn’t dream of.

What Obama does also works for the GOP,should they dare.
A mimic of the same Obama ad with a voice over asking the voter if they ever wondered why none in the dem party or the media have openly criticized the most anti-constitutional president in our history. The answer -they don’t dare tell you what they know and approve of.

The “whining” meme sunk in deep with you folks, I see. He’s being pretty darn gracious on his way out, much more than Santorum, but hey, his supporters are expendable, so let’s go with the insults and sore-winning.

I swear it’s like none of you have ever worked in politics before. What are you, 18?

alwaysfiredup on May 2, 2012 at 9:49 AM

Raining down hatred, contempt, and scorn on their critics has apparently been their deliberate strategy since 2009 or so. Unless Romney loses, you’re not going to convince them that they’re wrong.

Most of them do work in politics, they’re on Romney’s payroll. Which is insane for Romney to keep paying people to drive away potential voters like this.

angryed on May 2, 2012 at 9:52 AM

Ah, but they think this stuff has made Romney the nominee. They’ve been getting positive reinforcement, such as Romney’s opponents dropping out of the race, and his opponents’ supporters saying “Well, I loathe Romney and everyone who supports him and the GOP and everything he and they stand for, but I’ll vote for him anyway in November!”

Why would they stop using what they think is a winning tactic?

Uh, because that’s what Reagan did in 1980. He held banquets that concentrated on retiring the debt of his opponents where he, Reagan, was the toastmaster. They were big fundraisers, and went a long way towards building a winning national coalition.

Reagan, of course, was a master politician and a coalition-builder. Romney, well, he’s a master of entitlement who can’t appear to see past the failings (and Newt has many of them) of his primary opponents.

Yet another reason why Governor Tone-Deaf can never, ever be another Reagan.

victor82 on May 2, 2012 at 9:39 AM

Interesting. I did not know Reagan had done that and it makes the behavior of Romney supporters stand in an even starker contrast to Reagan.

Newt failed spectacularly at being a not-Romney, but good for him for not resorting to grovelling at the feet of Mitt and his purist whackjobs. He should now exit quietly and take a cue from Palin by staying out of official races.

They can offer Mitt help with three little things: optics, political organization (additional volunteers), and swaying public opinion. But, other than those things…

Fallon on May 2, 2012 at 9:53 AM

The problem is, I’m not sure Gingrich qualifies as “good optics”, has any volunteer organization to speak of, or positively contributes to public opinion. That what differs him from Santorum, on all three points.

It is common for winners to pay off the debts of the losers in primaries. This is not a new tradition.

Now, Santorum has been out of the race for a few weeks. I believe he has met with Romney already. And he has still not endorsed him. Santorum clearly needs Romney to bail him out. Now, when you take the fact that he has not, they have another meeting scheduled, he still has debt, and the conclusion is fairly obvious, without a blogger having guessed that.

Same with Newt. Over 4 million is a lot of money. ABR’s were not overly generous when the candidates were running. And they are not going to now donate that much to a guy not in the race. So, Newt needs Romney to bail him out, if you will. Again, the two have met in the last few weeks, Romney has not bailed him out, Newt still has debt, and Newt is exiting without an endorsement. So, what does that tell you? Because the answer seems pretty obvious to me. Again, without some blogger’s guess.

One candidate has little debt, exits without an endorsement. Another candidate has a lot of debt, exits without an endorsement. And somehow you conclude the lack of endorsement from the latter is all about the debt.

I don’t think Santorum or Gingrich have anything to offer Romney as far as helping to get him elected. Nothing, nada, zilch.

BettyRuth on May 2, 2012 at 9:37 AM

Wrong. They can offer this type of reassurance, which will help Romney with conservatives.

“We want to make sure he doesn’t replace it with any kind of mandate,” Santorum adviser Hogan Gidley said. He added, “Rick just wants to have a candid, open conversation about making sure the folks in the 11 states that voted for him, and the conservative movement, have a voice in the Romney campaign.”

Almost twice that. And if you plan to skip voting because your candidate got his arse spanked by Romney and refuses to endorse him, I suggest you need to have your water supply examined for pollutants.

He’s being pretty darn gracious on his way out, much more than Santorum, but hey, his supporters are expendable, so let’s go with the insults and sore-winning.

I swear it’s like none of you have ever worked in politics before. What are you, 18?

alwaysfiredup on May 2, 2012 at 9:49 AM

LMAO! Seriously? Newty is too petulant to endorse the nominee and you’re lecturing us? If this is how his “supporters” think then they’ve got the problem. Be useful or be gone. This election is too important for their kind of nonsense.

One candidate has little debt, exits without an endorsement. Another candidate has a lot of debt, exits without an endorsement. And somehow you conclude the lack of endorsement from the latter is all about the debt.

Truly brilliant logic.

alwaysfiredup on May 2, 2012 at 10:04 AM

No, there are no endorsements because both men are bitter, selfish losers. However, both are holding off endorsements until their requirements are met, and a huge part of their requirements are that Romney pays their debt.

Again, lets look at what happened. Despite the irrational hatred of Mitt Romney by many conservatives, they were not very generous when it came to donating to ABR campaigns. So, even a million dollars is not something that Santorum can raise very easily. So, he needs Romney to bail him out. And that is even more the case with Newt.

So, putting two and two together, it’s hard to say their posturing is not about getting everything they want, which includes Romney bailing them out, in return for their endorsements. And as many have said, I am not sure that Romney benefits more from their endorsements, which are conditioned, rather than spending that money to try to win independents.

So much anger directed at Newt. I don’t see the reason for it. Mitt won, despite Santorum/Gingrich support, and I might add, despite Ron Paul support. Accept the win graciously and move on. I don’t give a tinker’s dam* whether Newt or Rick endorse Romney, despite my support of Newt in the primary. Whatever the motivation for holding off on his endorsement, I’m sure none of us know exactly what’s going on behind the scenes, though educated guesses are interesting. I’d like to see Romney coalesce the non-Romney people, but my guess is that he’s focused on the Indies so he won’t and it’s a shame, really since the more right of center votes he gets, the center and less left of center votes he needs to win, it would seem to me. Of course, I don’t expect all the political pros here to agree with me since I’m basically a noob.

LOL you have a reading problem. I am not refusing to vote for Romney because of Newt, I am refusing to vote for Romney because of Romney and the jerks who support him.

But keep going, you’re only hurting yourself. I have popcorn.

alwaysfiredup on May 2, 2012 at 10:13 AM

My candidate didn’t win, either, and he was treated by the Republican press and establishment much worse than Gingrich. Once I realized he is not going to win, I was ready to support any candidate with a chance to boot the Kenyan outta White House. And since Romney – unlike Juan McLame – proved that he pack a punch, supporting him wasn’t much of a moral dilemma.

But go on, sulk in your corner with a bag of popcorn. That’s what you always did when your fe-e-e-elings got hurt, right – since you were 8?

Newt and Santorum should be asking themselves what they can do for Romney and for the country (in terms of making sure Obama is defeated), NOT what goodies or promises Romney can give or make to them.

Romney welcomes support from all former Newt and Santorum voters, though hearing facts like this likely upsets Obama-voting internet trolls like AngryEd. The conservative Republican base is a lock for Romney.

Meanwhile, the Obama campaign salutes Gingrich on the way out by playing his greatest hits — against Romney:

The funny part about this is that getting attacked by an extremely unpopular politician like Newt Gingrich in a general election (via previously-recorded Gingrich statements) isn’t such a terrible thing at all. The substance of the attack isn’t as important here as the person who is doing the attacking in this particular ad. Let’s not forget that, for the majority of people who aren’t highly partisan Republicans, the name “Newt Gingrich” is like poison.

Press Secretary position is not exactly executive. It’s… eh… talkative. Let’s put it mildly, very few Republicans are as capable as Newt in holding their own in verbal sparring with the ever-hostile press. But we obviously agree that Newt’s endorsement is practically worthless, and that no red dollars should be coming his way unless he actually earns them.

Archivarix on May 2, 2012 at 9:41 AM

I was referring to his unsuitability as President.

Given his ego and propensity for going off-script, even Press Secretary is a stretch.

Romney is a much better sport than I am, because I’d walk away and leave Newt Gingrich to pay his debts himself. His behavior during this campaign has been disgraceful. And for a supposedly smart guy, he had to have KNOWN that Democrats would make the exact sort of ad posted above. And apparently that was okay with him.

It’s just a good thing for us all the he’s not going to be the one managing our economic policy. Look at the mess he’s made of his own.

Seriously-a Jew has no business supporting someone who has received endorsements from: Don Black, David Duke, 9/11 truthers, Holocaust ‘revisionist, who has claimed that Israel is a bigger threat to world peace than Iran-in so many words.
THIS Jewish girl and her half-Jewish son ain’t biting.

I like how “I’m going to do everything in my power to help him win” is spun by the HA crowd as “refusing to endorse” because no one here bothers to RTWT. Way to go, Ed.

alwaysfiredup on May 2, 2012 at 10:23 AM

I have said many times that I will grudgingly work to defeat Obama, up to and including helping Mitt with my vote. That’s not good enough for the knob polishing rombots. I need to shut up and fall in line and accept that Willard Milton Romney is the second coming of Ronald Wilson Reagan. Screw that.

We piss away this election the very moment Mitt’s nomination is official. I couldn’t possibly be less excited about voting for a Republican in November.

gryphon202 on May 2, 2012 at 10:22 AM

The only people excited about seeing Romney win the election are the people in Romney’s family or on Romney’s payroll. But I’m extremely excited about booting out the Kenyan usurper. That may not qualify for donations – those will go down the ticket – but will definitely suffice to pull the red lever come November.

I am still hoping Romnay picks Newt as VP. He and Romney, together, would look pretty darn competent, standing together at the convention.

Sure, Newt would be a pain in the butt for Mitt to keep hold of….. but as long as Mitt buys a strong enough chain, and threatens to strap Newt to the roof of the wagon if he runs around off-leash eating all the neighbors’ cats without permission, just think of the carnage when Mitt says, “sic ’em, Newt!”

“Rick just wants to have a candid, open conversation about making sure the folks in the 11 states that voted for him, and the conservative movement, have a voice in the Romney campaign.”

If this is correct, then good for Rick.

Like it or not, Santorum represents a constituency that Romney needs, especially since he (Romney) is not attracting Independents in the numbers that we were all assured he would.

I keep reading here that if Romney is elected, conservatives will “hold his feet to the fire,” and “keep the pressure on him” so he will govern as a conservative. Why not start before the election? If Romney convinces Santorum that he will govern as a conservative, I have no doubt that an endorsement will be forthcoming. If not…well, that will give us all a clue about what we might expect under a Romney administration, and we can make our voting decisions accordingly.

Full disclosure: I’m an ABO voter and plan to vote for Romney in any case.

We piss away this election the very moment Mitt’s nomination is official. I couldn’t possibly be less excited about voting for a Republican in November.

gryphon202 on May 2, 2012 at 10:22 AM

I am more optimistic than you.

Mitt comes across to the average Joe as pretty competent. Plus, he can be pretty smooth. Once voters really focus and compare him to the uncontained brush fire that is 0bama, I think we’ve got a pretty good chance, even though he wasn’t my first choice.

The only people excited about seeing Romney win the election are the people in Romney’s family or on Romney’s payroll. But I’m extremely excited about booting out the Kenyan usurper. That may not qualify for donations – those will go down the ticket – but will definitely suffice to pull the red lever come November.

Seriously-a Jew has no business supporting someone who has received endorsements from: Don Black, David Duke, 9/11 truthers, Holocaust ‘revisionist, who has claimed that Israel is a bigger threat to world peace than Iran-in so many words.
THIS Jewish girl and her half-Jewish son ain’t biting.

annoyinglittletwerp on May 2, 2012 at 10:25 AM

I pay less attention to endorsement games and more to actual positions. Ron Paul’s positions on foreign policy and immigration are abhorrent but other than that, he’s Barry Goldwater on steroids. And when we run out of Chinese money, we will have no foreign or immigration policy left anyway.

Mitt comes across to the average Joe as pretty competent. Plus, he can be pretty smooth. Once voters really focus and compare him to the uncontained brush fire that is 0bama, I think we’ve got a pretty good chance, even though he wasn’t my first choice.

The two camps are negotiating a joint appearance, most likely hinging on Romney’s efforts to help retire Gingrich’s campaign debt. Gingrich was $4.5 million in the hole at the end of March, and is almost certainly worse off now. He will need a lot of help from Romney and his backers to get out of the deep well of red ink in which his campaign has sunk.

Hey, you know all that stuff I said about vulture-capitalism which I tried to destroy you with? Never mind. Capitalism rocks and I want to occupy your bank account. – Newt

Many of his actually positions disgust me. His foreign policy views ALONE guarantee that I will never vote for the Herr Doktor.
Also-I judge people by the company they keep.
Ronulan keeps some pretty rotten company.

The only thing Gingrich has to negotiate with is his endorsement if he wants help with his campaign debt. This is normal, Hillary Clinton had a huge debt after her primary that she asked Obama to help with in order to get her endorsement.

Newt is not a debater – he is a soundbite thrower. However, he is a very good, quick-on-his-feet soundbite thrower, and it happens to be the exact qualification for the position of Press Secretary. He also have gravitas that the current clown posse (Gibbs and Carney) couldn’t dream of.

Archivarix on May 2, 2012 at 9:53 AM

You serious? You have to question the political analysis chops of anyone who would write something as laughable as this.

Hey Arch…kind of hard to keep Calista in her jewels with that salary, not to mention he’s the last person anyone would pick for that job. Newt’s going to try and rebuild his lobbying/paid pundit/book selling efforts. I wish him good luck with that.

Many of his actually positions disgust me. His foreign policy views ALONE guarantee that I will never vote for the Herr Doktor.
Also-I judge people by the company they keep.
Ronulan keeps some pretty rotten company.

annoyinglittletwerp on May 2, 2012 at 10:37 AM

I was convinced that Ron Paul will never win the primaries. What I hoped for, however, is that he gets just enough votes to play the kingmaker. That would force the eventual winner to adopt his more “conservative mainstream” positions into his/her platform, and/or appoint either him or Rand to a cabinet post with significant influence over financial reform, such as Treasury or Fed Chair.

this is the headwind Romney’s fighting, not the “independent” vote, and the bitterness around here ain’t helping.

alwaysfiredup on May 2, 2012 at 10:32 AM

Okay, now here are five reasons conservatives had better pray for a Romney win, and do everything in their power to see it happen.
1. Ruth Bader Ginsburg – age 79
2. Antonin Scalia – age 76
3. Anthony Kennedy – age 75
4. Stephen Breyer – age 73
5. Clarence Thomas – age 63

I hope for their continued good health and ability to last beyond the next four years. (Okay, for three of the five I do.) It’s very likely that the three conservatives will continue well into their 80s, but considering how much hangs in the balance I don’t want to take the risk of letting the moron we have now appoint one more justice to corrupt a body for which he has a clear and utter contempt.

Perhaps Romney wasn’t the best conservative we could have nominated to take on Zerobama, but I am 100% certain that his administration will bring in individuals far more beneficial to our great nation that those five crooks, liars, and corruptocrats.